H.R. Morris by Kevin Sayles

While most will be familiar with the elaborate details found on frames by Hyman Hetchins, few will be aware that the intricate lug work he was famous for was in fact a popular fashion during the 1950s, and there existed a handful of craftsmen who specialized in supplying frames in that fashion.

The ‘Classic Lightweight’ style of clubman frames peaked in the 1950s, helped in part by the skills of English builders such as Hetchins, Bates, Claud Butler and a certain H.R. Morris. Born in 1912, Mr Morris found himself building frames to stave off the widespread unemployment during the Great Wars, and gained popularity as an artisan builder. He died last year leaving a legacy of some of the UK’s most beautiful frames, and the lugs on this bike. Kevin Sayles, frame builder for Woodrup Cycles in Leeds, filled in the blanks to a standard I’m sure even H.R. Morris himself would be pleased with. NB: Sans Pareil is French for ‘Without Peer’. See more on Kevin’s flickr stream.